Best of Boston

2012 Best Bistro

Salts

Chef Gabriel Bremer’s menu is blissfully free of the buzzwords of the moment. That’s because he knows what he does, and he does it consistently well. Witness a frothy dollop of foam atop an amuse-bouche of creamy squash soup, or a soft-cooked egg lounging on steel-cut-oat “risotto.” And then there’s the duck for two—with crispy, lavender-honey-glazed skin and tender meat, it’s so exquisitely prepared that you need to order it in advance (and you should).

798 Main St., Cambridge, 617-876-8444, saltsrestaurant.com